Kingdom Hearts III: Destiny Rewound
by ZiZi The Zephyr
Summary: After Riku and Sora return to Destiny Islands things start going smoothly once again but when a girl in black comes to the Islands everything begins to crumble. Riku and Sora must once again venture out into the unknown with a new friend. NOT CANCELLED!
1. And so it Begins

Erm…I have a beginning of a fanfic and I need some feed back for it…umm…I don't know if I need a disclaimer or not but…I'm gonna put it in anyway… I don't own Kingdom Hearts! Anyway this fanfic was built on KH3 speculations and a past fanfiction I wrote AGES upon AGES ago…so I hope you like it. I don't mean to sound pushy…but I only accept constructive criticism. I'm not \trying to be pushy but seriously, I don't…I'm not trying to be a biznatch… Anyway on to the story…

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"Come here, Ayxi." A young woman emerged from the shadows, and bowed to the armor-clad man before her.

"Yes, master?" She acknowledged with reverence. Her master couldn't help but catch her dark undertone.

"It is time for you to repay your dept, slave." Ayxi winced at her scathing moniker. "Look here." A small portal opened up in front of her. Two boys and a girl sat near a oddly shaped tree. They looked over at the shimmering ocean as the sun set on the horizon. They were smiling and talking. Ayxi found herself hypnotized by the golden paradise those three were so lucky to share. She slowly reached out to it image entranced by it's spellbinding arua, but an electrifying jolt of pain thrust her back into reality.

"What is that place?" She asked breathlessly. Her eyes shined with wonder. She was hungry for a taste of what they had.

"It is a place called Destiny Islands and it will soon be a threshold into darkness…"

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A pair of shining black eyes stared into his. A young girl was laughing. She was jubilantly hysterical with an overwhelming joy. She spun around in a circle in the gleaming sunlight.

"Sora, I feel…joy!" The girl exclaimed. Tears of happiness filled her eyes. "It's wonderful!" More laughs echoed in his mind but they were lost to the sound of Riku's concerned voice.

"Sora? Sora!"

"What?" Sora snapped back to reality. The black eyes of the young girl were replaced by Riku's piercing green eyes.

"Are you okay? You zoned out on us…"

"Huh? Oh sorry…I just…" Sora thought about the girl. "Nevermind…"

"You sure?" Kairi inquired.

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Okay well, c'mon it's getting late…" Kairi said with a smile.

"Yeah let's get going." Riku said. With that, Sora and Kairi hoped off the Paopu Tree. Sora stumbled a little when his feet touched the ground. He felt dizzy for a few seconds but he quickly regained his composure. He shook it off.

"Hey Sora, come on!" Riku prodded. His voice seemed far off.

"Alright!" Sora shouted back but he suddenly choked. He went into a small coughing fit. _Am I getting sick?_ He glanced at his hand and found it to be dripping with blood. He struggled to find his voice. "Riku! Kairi!" He tried to call for them once more but the same dizziness overcame him. The last thing he saw was the sand rushing to meet him.

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The Infirmary was busy as usual. Nurses and doctors rushed about in an organized frenzy. Kairi watched them as she wrung her hands raw with worry. Her mind was reeling with possibilities. She even thought about the worst case scenario. What if Sora was dead or dying? The myriad scenarios made her head spin. Riku placed a hand over hers. He offered her a reassuring smile but Kairi only managed a small half smile in return. To be honest, Riku was just as worried as Kairi maybe even more. He had heard Sora call his name with such urgency he almost describe it as fear. He had turned around just in time to see Sora fall to the ground. He spotted a doctor walking up to them. He had on a "poker face" as Sora would call it.

"Friends of Sora?" He asked. Kairi and Riku stood.

"Yes Sir."

"Well, he seems okay. As far as we can see there is nothing wrong with him." The doctor said calmly.

"But what about the blood and everything?" Kairi blurted.

"Well…there was nothing on the test. No internal bleeding. Nothing. He just won't wake up…"

"What do you mean?" Riku interrogated.

"He simply won't wake up. That it. He's almost comatose…"

"He's in a COMA!" Kairi shrieked. But the Doctor just smiled politely and shook his head.

"No he isn't. Chances are he'll be awake tomorrow if not late tonight." He said with a smile. "You can see him if you want."

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A black clad figure loomed over the sleeping boy. Her black eyes gazed over him. She wanted to touch him but she wasn't sure.

"Sora…" she whispered. She heard a gasp behind her. A silver haired boy stood at the doorway prepared to fight. A girl hid behind him with a scared look on her face. She looked at them.

"Who the hell are you?" Riku interrogated. The girl just blinked cluelessly.

"I'm Iya." She said back. "Who are you?" Her voice was innocent and curious but Riku didn't let his guard down.

"We're his friends."

"Oh…all right…" Iya thought for a minute. "Is your name Riku?"

"Yes…" Iya nodded and started out the room. She looked at Riku and whisper in his ear.

"He talks about you in his sleep."

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Umm…that's it…


	2. The Girl in Black

This chapter is dedicated to NightRaven13 for being my first reviewer!

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A nurse walked up to see Iya whispering to Riku. She huffed with irritation. She marched up to Iya with her hand on her hips.

"And where are you supposed to be, young lady." Iya sighed.

"I'm very sorry, Nurse but I had to see this boy. He's special." Iya's eyes sparkled. "He's very…unlucky though…" She said her voice heavy with something that sounded remotely like pity.

"Back to your room, sweetheart." Nurse coddled. Iya nodded and disappeared down the corridor. "I'm sorry about Iya. She's a little …um…touched…if you know what I mean. Someone found her washed up on the beach and she's been going on and on about darkness and hearts and…"

"Hearts? Darkness?" Riku asked. Needless to say, the Nurse was a little startled at his sudden interest.

"Yes…but she has no family here or anything and she can't remember where she's from. Would you like to speak to her?"

"Yes." Riku answered curtly. The nurse left for a while.

"Do you think she knows something about the Keyblade?" Kairi asked.

"I know she does." Riku said ominously. The nurse cleared her throat. Iya stood behind her innocently staring at them.

"I do." Iya said. She turned to the nurse. "Could we talk alone please?" The nurse said something about a curfew and left shutting the door behind her. Iya walked up to Sora and examined him. "Touch him." Riku gave her a sidelong glance. "Go on." Riku touched Sora on his arm. Sora began to stir. He writhed in his covers whispering in his sleep.

"Riku…Kairi…I'm sorry…forgive me…darkness…girl in black." Suddenly a dark aura rose around Sora. Riku yanked his hand away.

"Explain." Riku ordered.

"I can't explain it all now, but you and Sora must leave Destiny Islands." Iya went back to her observation of Sora. She placed a gentle hand on his head. She suddenly spoke in a clear stern voice. "Wake up, Sora." Sora eyes flew open. He took in a deep breath and stared at Iya in shock.

"The girl in black…" he breathed. Iya was the girl in his dreams, all dressed in black. Her long black of hair was tried back with a black bandana and the dark brown skin and glowing black eyes. She wore a simple long sleeved gown. She was the same girl.

"My name is Iya." Sora smiled at her but Iya only stared at him.

"We need to leave again, don't we?" Sora asked. Iya opened her mouth to answer but she was cut off by a terrified scream. Kairi rushed to open the door. She felt horror grip her as she fell back in shock.

"They're back…"

Sora leapt from his bed and ran to the door. Heartless swarmed the corridors of the Infirmary. Riku and Sora called their Keyblades to their hands and rushed outside. Iya turned to Kairi. She handed her a sword out of thin air.

"Time to fight." Iya said gently. She called her weapons to her hands. Two lances with moon shaded blades. She calmly walked out with Kairi trailing behind her. The nurse was able to pick off a few Shadows with her clipboard. Kairi batted her way through the Heartless despite Iya's warnings to stay close. Riku and Sora mowed them down with strength fed by rage and confusion. Iya gracefully plowed through as she twirled her lances in her dance of death. Despite their efforts, the Heartless kept multiplying. Their number kept growing and growing. Soon the four were fighting back to back.

"Iya, why are they here?" Sora interrogated. Iya batted back a soldier with one of her lances.

"That's not in our best interest to discuss that right now!" She objected. "I'll finish them off. Get down." Iya said. They all got on their stomachs. Iya began to glow pale blue. Her lances spun like razor blades. They flew about obliterating the Heartless. Iya finally landed in one fatal combo. With that move the halls were empty besides the nurse who scrambled to her feet and left in a frenzy. Iya's knees caved in underneath her and she fell to the floor. She let out a tired sigh. "I haven't done that in a while." Kairi helped her to her feet.

"Why are they here, Iya?" Sora demanded. "Did you bring them here?"

"They are attracted to the Key of Darkness." Iya stated calmly.

"It's me isn't?" Riku cast his eyes down. "They're drawn to me. The Key of Darkness…"

"No." Iya interjected "It's Sora."

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	3. An Explaination

"Me?" Sora turned chalk dust pale. "Then that explains it…" His eyes glazed over with some hypnotized look.

"Explains what?" Riku asked.

"Everything…" A black tear streamed Sora's ashen face. Iya touched Sora's shoulder and her soft voice became loud and clear.

"Sora!" she bellowed. Sora's color returned but his eyes still had that sad tortured look. Iya yanked herself from Kairi's support. She clutched Sora's shoulders with a stern look. She shook him with considerable force. "Sora!" He looked at her with a stunned look. Iya's rock hard expression sharpened to a glare. Sora shook himself out the daze.

"What did you do?" Riku inquired.

"You just seem to be full of questions don't you?" Iya's voice was back to its soft empty tone. "It's just some ability I have. I can do it with anyone. It's nothing bad."

"What's going on here?" Kairi asked. "Explain Iya."

"In time, Princess, the king will tell you everything."

"The King?"

"Yes." Iya stated. A surge of power came from deep within her. She called up a gray portal in front of her. "After you."

Sora walked through first with Kairi and Riku after him. He looked around at the strange vacuum.

"It's nothing but empty space…Iya how did you…"

"Please no more questions." Iya pleaded. She looked exhausted. She forced herself to take a few more steps and out of the portal. "Come on, your friends are anxious to see you." They walked through the swirling void. Suddenly it dissolved to reveal the not yet fully restored Radiant Garden.

"It's Hollow Bastion…" Riku breathed in a tone of awe.

"Radient Garden." Everyone corrected. Riku muttered something about bring wrong and continued trailing behind them. Suddenly something within Kairi's Heart snapped. She stopped in her tracks.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" She screamed in a sudden fury. "This is all going way to fast!"

"Kairi…just calm down…you can trust, Iya…" Sora consoled.

"What? Because of your _dreams_?" Kairi interrogated cruelly, but once she saw the deeply scathed look in his eyes she began apologizing profusely.

"I-it's okay you were upset…"Sora said with a frail smile. Riku managed to catch the stoic yet bewildered look on Iya's face.

"I am sorry Kairi, believe me, but I need you to trust me." Iya said calmly. Kairi nodded weakly. "Come on the king and the others are waiting."

When they reached Merlin's House, they were met by old friends. They were greeted with smiles, handshakes, hugs, and the occasional kiss on the cheek from Aerith, Tifa or Yuffie. It was a momentous occasion. Even Leon and Cloud were smiling. Despite the bliss of this reunion, Sora couldn't shake the pain and doubt in his heart.

"Guess you all are wondering why you're here." King Mickey said with his unmistakable smile.

"Wondering is an understatement." Sora spat bitterly. This earned a smack in the arm from Kairi.

"Well legend tells of three gates: Light, Nothingness and Darkness. Someone or something has opened them." King Mickey stated.

"Worlds are being violently thrown of balance. It's imperative that they are shut. Nobodies and Heartless are multiplying out of the sheer essence they are made from." Leon added.

"The people who opened these gates, they called themselves Chasers, must have phenomenal power, because as far as we know no one has been able to open the Gates except the Three Keys." Iya finished.

"Three Keys?" Sora inquired.

"We're getting to that." Iya quipped. "The Chasers are said to keep mentioning something called…um…Birth by Sleep. We don't know what that means, yet."

"But we do know that they are powerful beyond any of our imaginations." Cloud added.

"The Three Keys are the Keys to the Gates. We do not yet know how they opened them but we're close to an answer. Your Keyblades hold enormous power." Aerith said from her place on the table. "Sora, your Oblivion Keyblade is made from Darkness and only you can wield it. Riku the Way to Dawn isn't in it's true form because of your previous endeavors but don't worry it'll happen eventually."

"What about the Key to Nothingness?" Riku asked.

"We don't know who the third Key is." Yuffie said with an irritated sigh. "We have the Keychain to the Third Key. It's called the Gray Nocturne. It hasn't responded to anyone not even the king."

"So…there's no Third Key. What do we do? We can't just go world to world to see if it responds." Riku nerves were becoming visibly frayed.

"Well, I gotta feeling that the Third Key is right here in this room." The King interjected. "Gee, fellas, would you mind if I borrowed Iya for a minutes, do ya?" All eyes shifted to Iya who clueless blinked at their unreadable expressions.

"What?"

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That's all for now


	4. The Third Key

"Gosh Iya, I can't think you enough for bringn' them here. You must be tired." King Mickey said as he and Iya walked down the cobblestone streets.

_You have no idea._ Iya thought grimly. "I'll recover soon enough." She said with a blank smile.

"I brought you out here to give you the Gray Nocturne, Iya." King Mickey said stopping to face her.

"Why couldn't you give it to me in Merlin's house?" Iya inquired.

"Sora and Riku need to catch up with their friends before they leave." King Mickey held out the Gray Nocturne. "Here, Iya, the Gray Nocturne is yours." He handed Iya the keychain. A beautiful silver keyblade appeared in Iya's right hand.

"Wow…" The Keyblade suddenly started to glow and another Keyblade appeared in her left hand. Iya examined her stunning new weapons. "And here I thought I'd be the one with all the answers…"

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"Wait'll you see 'er, boy!" Cid bragged as he slapped Riku hard on the back. "My pride an' joy! A work of genius! Ha, Ha!" Riku just gave him a small smile still feeling the sting from that "friendly" pat on the back.

"Riku, can I speak with you for a minute?" Tifa summoned him over to her spot by the computer saving him from Cid's endless bragging.

"What is it?" Riku asked as he sat beside her.

"It's about Sora…" Tifa said. The look in her eyes made Riku's blood freeze. "The darkness in Sora's heart is beginning to manifest. We need you to keep a close eye on him. Thousands upon thousands of Heartless are looking for you three, especially Sora because…"

"The darkness…"

"Yes, but his heart is in a fragile state as it is. He was under great emotional stress during his j ourney. He just hides well." Tifa gave him a sad smile. "Just watch him and don't let him do anything irrational. You know as well as I do Sora's known to act on impulse."

"Yeah, he can be a real idiot sometimes." Riku added. Tifa just smiled weakly.

"Keep an eye on him." Riku nodded firmly. "But there's one more thing…"

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Sora stashed himself n a corner watching all his friends wander about talking to one another. That nagging feeling of doubt still clawed at his heart. Darkness…Darkness…was all he kept thinking about. _How? Why? What did this mean?_ For a second he wondered if they were even telling the truth.

"Gawrsh, Sora you okay?" Goofy asked. Sora gave his good friend a weak smile.

"Yeah I okay. You need something?"

"Leon wants to see ya." Sora glanced across the room. There he saw Leon dark and brooding as usual. He thanked his friend with a smile and crossed the room to see Leon.

"You wanted to see me." It was more of a statement than a question. Leon nodded somberly. "Well…?"

"There's more to this journey, Sora." Leon's voice was thin. _Has he been crying?_ Sora wondered. "Iya may not have mentioned it…Sora, there's a good chance that you might not come back after you seal the gates."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked sitting in the chair beside him. "Leon?"

"Sora …you, Riku and Iya… might die…" Those words hit Sora like a wrecking ball.

"Does Kairi know? What about Riku does anyone else know? What did they say? What-"

"Sora…" Leon interjected. "Everyone knows as for Kairi well…" He nodded his head toward the general direction of Kairi who was with Aerith outside. She was crying and Aerith was doing all she could to comfort her. Sora sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. _I would give anything to see my friends happy especially Kairi. Even if I have to give up my life! _"Sora…" Sora gazed up at Leon and the made eye contact for the first time since they started talking. Leon's eyes were bloodshot and desolate. _So he has been crying…_"For what it's worth…you've always been like a little brother to me…" Leon said quietly. Sora could only muster a tearful smile in response.

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Iya and King Mickey walked in. Everyone stared in awe at the glimmering silver Keyblades in Iya's hands.

"The Gray Nocturne…times two…" Yuffie squeaked. Riku and Sora stood together and called their Keyblades to their hand. The three of them held their weapons in front of them in unspoken oath. A powerful silence shook the room and crushed them all.

"You with us?" Riku asked. His face was hard and calculating but Iya kept the same soft stoic expression. She nodded silently. Sora returned it just the same. He placed his Keyblade in the center, Riku placed his on top of Sora's and lastly Iya placed hers a top of theirs.

"We're in this together. "Sora said resolutely. "For good."

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Finally! I got it. I promise I'll update sooner. Once again I apologize to those who were waiting. Espeically NightRaven 13!

**HEY!!!**

This is the ever-so-benevolent Shadowlily. I have come with an announcement. No I'm NOT canceling this fanfic! I'm just going though a dead spot (in case you haven't noticed). With school, surgery, band, doctor's appointments, keeping up with my prescriptions, Color Guard and keeping my grades up, I'm lucky if I get to get on the computer much less write. So my apologies, I hope you understand.

Thanks!

Shadowlily


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